Visualizing WiFi Signals Through Color and Photography

The Kirlian Device is an instrument designed to reveal qualities of wireless networks. The device is named after Semyon Davidovich Kirlian, who discovered and perfected a photographic technique to capture electrical coronal discharges.

Inside, the device is powered by an Arduino UNO board connected to a Arduino WiFi Shield. Both components process and map the RSSI values of a previously specified SSID network into colour using a heatmap colour scheme. The mapped colours are then passed to a Pololu LED strip. The operation is possible by the use of two 5V lithium batteries. [source]

“I believe our interaction with this landscape of electromagnetic signals, described by Antony Dunne as Hertzian Space, can be characterised in the same terms as that with ghosts and spectra. They both are paradoxical entities, whose untypical substance allows them to be an invisible presence. In the same way, they undergo a process of gradual substantiation to become temporarily available to perception. Finally, they both haunt us. Ghosts, as Derrida would have it, with the secrets of past generations. Hertzian space, with the frustration of interference and slowness.”

If you’re interested in trying the visualization yourself, Hernan has built a free Android app called the Kirlian Device mobile which is available through the Google play store.